Driving efficient growth and building business resilience are at the top of the agenda for enterprises in 2024. However, one of the things holding companies back from achieving these goals is technical debt.
Research shows the average organization wastes up to 42% of their development time on technical debt. What’s more, Gartner predicts that IT leaders who actively reduce technical debt are 50% more likely to deliver faster services.
Why Organizations Accumulate Technical Debt
Technical debt happens when companies accumulate one-off technology solutions or make misguided investments in heavyweight enterprise software. IT leaders often make these decisions based on time constraints, budget limitations, or a lack of understanding of long-term implications.
Another reason why companies accumulate technical debt is because they are financially and culturally invested in legacy ITSM software. These systems are often too complex and lack the flexibility and connectivity modern organizations need. Not only do they come with an expensive price tag, but they require an army of people to maintain and most of their features go unused.
Because companies need to keep pace with a fast-moving business environment, they resort to implementing quick workarounds and adding new applications to modernize their legacy infrastructure. Over time, these on-off solutions add up, resulting in mounting technical debt that hinders growth and impacts business performance.
Modernize Legacy ITSM Software to Reduce Technical Debt
Modernizing your ITSM software helps reduce technical debt and gives your organization the flexibility it needs to adapt to changing market demands. Here are our recommendations for how to eliminate unnecessary complexity and reduce costs with your ITSM solution:
1. Invest in a solution that is flexible in functionality and price.
When it comes to technology (and most things in life, quite frankly), sometimes less is more. Companies often invest in robust enterprise software that leaves them with bloated tech stacks. They fail to see the return on their investment because they end up paying for more features and capabilities than they actually need.
Unfortunately, this happens often with ITSM platforms. In their “Buyer’s Guide for ITSM Platforms,” Gartner found that eight out of 10 organizations overspend on their ITSM platform subscription by half of the contract value because they purchase features that do not get fully used.
The Atlassian platform is flexible in both functionality and price and can scale to meet an organization’s ever-evolving needs. That was the case for ERPA, a leading technology company based in Ohio.
The Financial Impact of Migrating from ServiceNow to Jira Service Management
ERPA needed a more efficient and cost-effective service management solution, so they decided to migrate to Jira Service Management from ServiceNow. ERPA already had an Atlassian footprint, so it made sense to go with a platform that their teams knew and loved. Also, Atlassian’s flexible and transparent pricing models were better suited to ERPA’s needs.
Since moving to Jira Service Management, ERPA has saved significantly on licensing costs, and they’re not alone. After transitioning from ServiceNow to Jira Service Management, Engie Mexico has reduced licensing costs by 67% and freed up more than 200 hours per month of their technical team’s time. Saint Gobain, a worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction, also expects to save 70% on licensing costs alone this year.
Cost Savings Beyond Licensing
And it’s not just about licensing costs. QAD, a global manufacturing ERP leader, consolidated its collection of ITSM tools by 75%, which reduced costs and complexity for the growing organization.
Migrating to Jira Service Management enables businesses to reallocate resources to other areas, producing additional cost savings. For example, the three-person team that previously maintained ServiceNow can transition to more value-generating roles since a company’s existing Jira team can also support Jira Service Management.
Additionally, research from Forrester Consulting shows that enterprise organizations have saved $1.4 million from service desk productivity improvements after implementing Jira Service Management.
2. Choose a platform that unifies teams and processes.
Instead of trying to modernize their legacy ITSM software with quick fixes and workarounds, businesses need to invest in a single platform that unifies people, processes, and information. The Atlassian platform, for example, offers a comprehensive suite of tools that seamlessly connects the flow of work across teams and departments.
When integrated with Jira Software, Jira Service Management unites development, IT operations, and business teams on the same platform they already use to move work forward. Because everyone has access to the same issues and tickets, Jira Service Management creates a streamlined user experience for all parties involved.
If an organization’s teams are already immersed in the Atlassian ecosystem, adopting Jira Service Management enables teams to collaborate at scale and deliver service more efficiently.
For example, service teams can link Jira Service Management tickets to issues in Jira Software so that IT teams can prioritize work and quickly resolve customer requests. For any Jira Service Management bug tickets that require escalation, Jira Software users (i.e. developers) can provide answers for the support team to share with customers.
3. Reduce data complexity with integrated technology.
As organizations grow and their ecosystems become more complex, they face the challenge of managing their data infrastructure. Operating with disconnected processes and tools means that it takes longer to acquire data, but even then, that data is inconsistent. Having a good integration strategy and the right technology to support it reduces operational complexity and simplifies data management.
Because of its tightly integrated ecosystem, Atlassian makes it easy for teams to share and exchange information within their platform and with external systems as well. Data flows freely between Jira Software, Jira Service Management, Jira Work Management, and other Atlassian tools, giving teams faster access to the information they need.
Unlike traditional ITSM platforms, Jira Service Management creates a single source of truth for all enterprise intelligence about the service delivery lifecycle. Even Forrester recognizes Jira Service Management for its “unique, open-first architecture, which encourages knowledge sharing without restrictions, while AI capabilities drive improved user experiences.”
With Atlassian’s efficient integrations in place, organizations remove unnecessary data complexity and free up resources to focus on more important tasks.
Accelerate Your IT Modernization Initiatives
It’s impossible to respond to disruption and build a resilient enterprise with technology that’s collecting dust on the shelves. Modernizing your ITSM software can help you cut down on technical debt, eliminate unnecessary expenses, and improve business performance.
Looking for a more modern ITSM solution that brings you closer to your customers? From ACI Worldwide to the world's largest brewing company, Praecipio has guided hundreds of organizations through the transition to more flexible, fit-for-purpose ITSM software like Jira Service Management.
Reach out to us about strategies for managing your technical debt and accelerating your IT modernization efforts.
